Comments on: Review of Dixon Ticonderoga Classic.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:24:12 +0000

I am a kindy teacher and the Ticonderoga pencils break all the time. I have several boxes of them in my cabinet. In the past week I have had to throw several away because the lead just fell out and I was grinding them down to nothing. I have an expensive electric pencil sharpener and am so disappointed with the Ticonderoga-it’s just not the pencil of my childhood anymore!!!

By: Andrew Kantor's Place

Andrew Kantor's Place — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:29:28 +0000

[...] have never seen so many reviews — glowing reviews — of a pencil. There are entire blog posts (long ones) dedicated to the Ticonderoga. One blog post has 51 comments, almost all of them also [...]

By: Bob H.

Bob H. — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:06:04 +0000

As a child, I did two things to pencils: (a) wore the eraser down so that I had to use a Pink Pearl and (b) wore the pencil itself down until it was barely able to fit in my hand before replacing it. In those days (mid-’70s) I used a yellow Ticonderoga, even when my friends were using psychedelic-colored wood pencils.

Today, the Ticonderogas I recently purchased were not quite up to par. The line is too faint, too pale to read. I switched to artists’ sketch pencils of the 2B grade. I’m using what’s readily available at the local big-box store, the Sanford 3800 and Ebony models. Both are smooth, dark and highly legible. I wonder if other writers end up having to use artists’ pencils?

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:15:30 +0000

My favorite pencil as a child. Tossed all the other cheap pencils into the ceiling. They are so heavy they stick in just right. Ticonderoga for life!

By: bob hakun

bob hakun — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:00:22 +0000

I totally agree-

By the time you reach the middle of the pencil trying to re-sharpen is a waste of time: the lead breaks almost every time. It didn’t used to be like that.

By: Editor

Editor — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:07:14 +0000

I’ve never found that to be the case personally, but I also can’t get past the end of US production on an American icon. Makes me sad.

By: Colin

Colin — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:21:27 +0000

This review and most of these comments miss something: Dixon puts total crap into their leads after the first inch or so. Forget using the pencil after that — go ahead, try and sharpen it — you will be carving it down to a stub. The yellow Ticonderoga is great for nostalgia, and the eraser isn’t bad, but if you actually use pencils to draw and work, don’t buy anything from Dixon.

By: John R. Fulton Jr.

John R. Fulton Jr. — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:56:13 +0000

Tom – you’re a photographer so a couple of photographer notes.
There use to be a pencil that you could use to spot prints. We use to all have them at the newspaper.
I use a pencil to mark the back of archival fibre based prints. It doesn’t fade and it doesn’t bleed into the print and it leaves no residue which would effect the archival quality of the print.
A couple of other notes.
In addition to cold and wet you can write upside down with a pencil.
I love the term, above, “rollaway” in referring to the Mirado Black Warrior.
The pencil I cannot locate nor remember the name of was the one all copy desks at newspapers used on stories (yes, back when stories were edited on paper). They had a soft lead and the outside of the pencil was reddish brown and had no eraser.
Good job, Tom, on pencils.
John Fulton

By: Maili

Maili — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:51:53 +0000

The Mirado Classic is hands down THE best pencil I’ve ever had the pleasure of using! It feels wonderfully natural in my hand. I drop it and it stays put, no rolling(weird huh?), and for any artists who draw with pencils, it seriously can’t be beat, the lines are clean, the shading is superior, and the eraser never smudges or tears!!! I will never draw with another pencil again!!

By: ingrid

ingrid — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:41:49 +0000

Staedtler Rally #2 HB. Have you tried one of those? I like them for the white eraser, which doesn’t leave marks the way a pink eraser sometimes can. As for sharpeners, the Koh-I-Noor Nr.983. It has three holes with different length blades to sharpen different parts of the pencil tip!!! I draw everything with these two tools.